Climbing Back

The Supreme Court was hard at work last week on a heavy docket. But the biggest court news was not a decision from the bench, it was a return to it. Justice William O. Douglas, 76, came back 78 days after suffering a serious stroke while vacationing in the Bahamas with his wife. Still weak in his left arm and leg, Douglas entered the Supreme Court building in a wheelchair pushed by a court messenger. Though he will have to return to Walter Reed Army Medical Center for periodic therapy, the redoubtable Justice intends to resume his seat on the high bench this week. Despite reports that the proud outdoorsman might quit rather than be wheeled to work (TIME, Feb. 17), the liberal Douglas seems determined to deprive President Ford of the opportunity to appoint a conservative jurist to the court. On the job again and in high spirits, the old mountaineer gave an optimistic order to his secretary: "Tell the press to get ready. We're going to be back walking the canal pretty soon."

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